'One of a kind. Utterly fantastic.' Eoin Colfer on Tin David and Penny's strange new home is surrounded by forest. It's the childhood home of their mother, who's recently died. But other creatures live here ... magical creatures, like tiny, hairy Pog. He's one of the First Folk, protecting the boundary between the worlds. As the children explore, they discover monsters slipping through from the place on the other side of the cellar door. Meanwhile, David is drawn into the woods by something darker, which insists there's a way he can bring his mother back ...

One of Thomas Hardy's most beloved novels, Far from the Madding Crowd follows the romantic entanglements of Bathsheba Everdene, a headstrong and independent young woman, and the three men who love her. Set against the backdrop of rural England in the 19th century, the novel offers a poignant commentary on love, marriage, and the social mores of the time. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, who must choose among three suitors in Wessex in the 1840s.

Graced with the splendid illustrations executed by Helen Paterson for the first edition of the novel, this special Collector's Edition of Far from the Madding Crowd also features handwritten letters and drawings by Hardy, as well as rare and intimate portraits of the author and his first wife, Emma. Here, too, readers are granted a fascinating and touching glimpse of how two great imaginative writers interact with one another: This edition reproduces the handwritten pages from Virginia Woolf's diary in which she recounts her now-famous visit with the very aged Thomas Hardy at his home, Max Gate, in 1926. "From the Hardcover edition."

Thomas Hardy's impassioned novel of courtship in rural life In Thomas Hardy's first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships. This edition, based on Hardy's original 1874 manuscript, is the complete novel he never saw published, and restores its full candor and innovation. Rosemarie Morgan's introduction discusses the history of its publication, as well as the biblical and classical allusions that permeate the novel.

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Called "One of the Greatest Love Stories of All Time" by The Guardian in 2007, Far From the Madding Crowd is a pastoral romance set in the rural southwest region of England. When Gabriel Oak, a shepherd, faces a disastrous loss of his chance at building a farm of his own, he seeks work in a nearby town with no luck. As he travels to another hiring fair, he helps save a mysterious farmer's estate from a dangerous fire. After asking for work as a shepherd, he discovers that he knows and once loved the owner, the strong and beautiful Bathsheba Everdeen, who has inherited her uncle's estate and is now wealthy. Gabriel goes to work for Bathsheba and quietly and patiently serves her as both shepherd and advisor. His love grows, but will she acknowledge him? Far from the Madding Crowd is a beautiful story of love and friendship.